The New Player (Salt Lake City Raptors Book 3), page 1
The New Player
Salt Lake City Raptors Book 3
Iris Sweetwater
Hydra Productions Online LLC
Copyright © 2022 by Raven Heidrich
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Contents
Prologue: Jakob
Prologue: Jakob
1. Jakob
2. Ivy
3. Jakob
4. Ivy
5. Jakob
6. Ivy
7. Jakob
8. Ivy
9. Jakob
10. Ivy
11. Jakob
12. Ivy
13. Ivy
14. Jakob
15. Ivy
16. Jakob
17. Ivy
18. Jakob
19. Ivy
20. Jakob
21. Ivy: 3 Months Later
22. Jakob
23. Jakob: One Year Later
24. Epilogue: Ivy (1 Year Later)
Prologue: Jakob
These tryouts have my anxiety pretty high. These guys are good. They’re easily moving around the ice. It’s no wonder they’re a championship-level team.
I haven’t played with a team like this, but these tryouts are my ticket in.
I start moving over the ice to get into position. I know this is it. This is my shot to show them everything I can do.
I will make this team. I’m not giving myself another option.
I know I don’t have much finesse like the rest of the teammates do, but I have a lot of power behind my moves. I pull out all the tricks and show off as much as I can. Even if I’m overdoing it, I know that it’ll make me stand out a lot more than some of these other guys.
The coach lets us take a break, and I walk over to one of the tables outside of concessions to sit and stretch while I can.
Two of the players walk up to me. They drop down at the table, one dramatically and the other with a roll of his eyes.
“You were pretty good out there. How long you been playing?” The dramatic one taps the table and smirks at me.
I shrug. “I played with a team on the Res for as long as I can remember. Nothing professional though.”
“Not bad.” The eye roller tosses out. He holds a hand out. “Jeremiah.”
I give him a nod and shake his hand. “Jakob.”
“Cayden.” I raise a brow and shake Cayden’s held out hand. “You were showing off a little bit too much.”
I pull my hand back and cross my arms over my chest. “It’s a tryout, I’m supposed to be showing off.”
Jeremiah shakes his head. “If you keep trying so hard, coach is going to look at you as a glory hog. Try working in some teamwork with us. It’ll give you the better shot. You already did all the showing off that you need to in order to get his attention.”
Cayden leans forward. “Show him that you can work with a team now.”
I nod at them both. “I’ll do that.” They stand up, and Cayden knocks on the table before heading back out to the ice. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Cayden throws over his shoulder.
I roll my shoulders and try to get out of my head. They’re right. This is a team sport. I can’t make the tryouts all about me. No one wants to worry about a player who shows off with no regards for the rest of the team.
I will make this team if it’s the last thing I do. I need to make money to bring home. I’m tired of watching my brothers and mother struggle. They deserve a better life.
I move around on the ice, paying attention to where Cayden and Jeremiah are moving. I make sure to work with them, now that I know they’re watching out for me. It’s an odd comfort to feel like I already have teammates.
Maybe they’ll put in a word for me with the coach.
There are a few girls sitting off the ice watching the tryouts. They are eating popcorn and yelling at some of the guys. They know them by name. I doubt they’re puck bunnies. They wouldn’t get in here for tryouts.
One of the other guys trying out slams into me. “You should pay attention to the puck, not the girls.”
I shove him off but pull myself back in before my temper gets out of hand. I see Cayden coming up and he knocks the guy in the shoulder. “Maybe you shouldn’t get so aggressive before you’re even on the team.”
The player turns to Cayden and sneers. Cayden shoots back a grin and holds his arms up before skating backwards and away from us.
The tryouts continue, and Cayden and Jeremiah keep watching my back. I keep watching theirs as well. By the end of day one, I make the cut into the final four guys.
Day two is just as hard hitting. The aggressive guy didn’t make the cut, but now each of us is so cutthroat. I get another reminder to pull it back, but it’s hard to keep it locked in for now.
I keep reminding myself that I need this, Mom needs this, my brothers need this. I make it through with so many bruises all over from the random hits.
The coach comes out and starts talking to two of the guys. I watch carefully as they both drop their heads and their shoulders fall. They clearly didn’t make it.
I feel my heart rate pick up as I see the coach approaching. He looks between the other player and I carefully.
“Jakob.” He holds his hand out to me, and I feel myself deflate. “Welcome to the team.”
There’s no way I just heard him correctly. Taking his hand in mine, I shake it with a tight grip. “I made it?”
Cayden and Jeremiah both smack me on separate shoulders. “Yeah, you did!” Cayden shouts and starts shaking me.
The reality hits me after a few moments, I did it. I made the team. Every hour I worked out on the ice with the small Res team was worth it. This is my ticket into the league.
I just need the pay to kick in as soon as possible.
Jeremiah shakes my arm again. I look at the coach and smile. “Thank you. Sorry. I thought I heard you wrong for a minute.”
The guys are laughing behind me. “Let’s go celebrate!” Jeremiah seems a little less serious now. I think he was trying to see if he could scare me off before.
I nod my head. “Yeah. Let’s go celebrate.” I hear the words leave me, but they still don’t feel real.
I head to the locker room to change, still feeling as if the whole day has been a dream.
Prologue: Jakob
These tryouts have my anxiety pretty high. These guys are good. They’re easily moving around the ice. It’s no wonder they’re a championship-level team.
I haven’t played with a team like this, but these tryouts are my ticket in.
I start moving over the ice to get into position. I know this is it. This is my shot to show them everything I can do.
I will make this team. I’m not giving myself another option.
I know I don’t have much finesse like the rest of the teammates do, but I have a lot of power behind my moves. I pull out all the tricks and show off as much as I can. Even if I’m overdoing it, I know that it’ll make me stand out a lot more than some of these other guys.
The coach lets us take a break, and I walk over to one of the tables outside of concessions to sit and stretch while I can.
Two of the players walk up to me. They drop down at the table, one dramatically and the other with a roll of his eyes.
“You were pretty good out there. How long you been playing?” The dramatic one taps the table and smirks at me.
I shrug. “I played with a team on the Res for as long as I can remember. Nothing professional though.”
“Not bad.” The eye roller tosses out. He holds a hand out. “Jeremiah.”
I give him a nod and shake his hand. “Jakob.”
“Cayden.” I raise a brow and shake Cayden’s held out hand. “You were showing off a little bit too much.”
I pull my hand back and cross my arms over my chest. “It’s a tryout, I’m supposed to be showing off.”
Jeremiah shakes his head. “If you keep trying so hard, coach is going to look at you as a glory hog. Try working in some teamwork with us. It’ll give you the better shot. You already did all the showing off that you need to in order to get his attention.”
Cayden leans forward. “Show him that you can work with a team now.”
I nod at them both. “I’ll do that.” They stand up, and Cayden knocks on the table before heading back out to the ice. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Cayden throws over his shoulder.
I roll my shoulders and try to get out of my head. They’re right. This is a team sport. I can’t make the tryouts all about me. No one wants to worry about a player who shows off wit
I will make this team if it’s the last thing I do. I need to make money to bring home. I’m tired of watching my brothers and mother struggle. They deserve a better life.
I move around on the ice, paying attention to where Cayden and Jeremiah are moving. I make sure to work with them, now that I know they’re watching out for me. It’s an odd comfort to feel like I already have teammates.
Maybe they’ll put in a word for me with the coach.
There are a few girls sitting off the ice watching the tryouts. They are eating popcorn and yelling at some of the guys. They know them by name. I doubt they’re puck bunnies. They wouldn’t get in here for tryouts.
One of the other guys trying out slams into me. “You should pay attention to the puck, not the girls.”
I shove him off but pull myself back in before my temper gets out of hand. I see Cayden coming up and he knocks the guy in the shoulder. “Maybe you shouldn’t get so aggressive before you’re even on the team.”
The player turns to Cayden and sneers. Cayden shoots back a grin and holds his arms up before skating backwards and away from us.
The tryouts continue, and Cayden and Jeremiah keep watching my back. I keep watching theirs as well. By the end of day one, I make the cut into the final four guys.
Day two is just as hard hitting. The aggressive guy didn’t make the cut, but now each of us is so cutthroat. I get another reminder to pull it back, but it’s hard to keep it locked in for now.
I keep reminding myself that I need this, Mom needs this, my brothers need this. I make it through with so many bruises all over from the random hits.
The coach comes out and starts talking to two of the guys. I watch carefully as they both drop their heads and their shoulders fall. They clearly didn’t make it.
I feel my heart rate pick up as I see the coach approaching. He looks between the other player and I carefully.
“Jakob.” He holds his hand out to me, and I feel myself deflate. “Welcome to the team.”
There’s no way I just heard him correctly. Taking his hand in mine, I shake it with a tight grip. “I made it?”
Cayden and Jeremiah both smack me on separate shoulders. “Yeah, you did!” Cayden shouts and starts shaking me.
The reality hits me after a few moments, I did it. I made the team. Every hour I worked out on the ice with the small Res team was worth it. This is my ticket into the league.
I just need the pay to kick in as soon as possible.
Jeremiah shakes my arm again. I look at the coach and smile. “Thank you. Sorry. I thought I heard you wrong for a minute.”
The guys are laughing behind me. “Let’s go celebrate!” Jeremiah seems a little less serious now. I think he was trying to see if he could scare me off before.
I nod my head. “Yeah. Let’s go celebrate.” I hear the words leave me, but they still don’t feel real.
I head to the locker room to change, still feeling as if the whole day has been a dream.
1
Jakob
I’ve been screwing up every single play that Coach is yelling out. I can’t keep my mind in the game. All I keep seeing is the stack of bills at Mom’s that just keep piling up.
I pay off one, and ten more come in.
It’s never ending.
I sincerely hoped that this job, being on this team, was going to help me cover everything. I thought the struggle would be over. I thought that this energy drink brand deal would get me the extra check I needed.
The truth is that I’m pretty sure they’re scamming me. They caught word about me being the new breakout on the team this season, and they took advantage of me needing the money.
I’m angrier at myself more than the company. I’m usually so careful with what I’m doing and signing.
I sat down with them, completely distracted by the conversation that morning with Mom and the new round of bills that the roof collapsing caused. Mom was crying as she handed them to me. I kept telling her it happens, but she just shook her head, disappointed.
They low-balled me. That’s what the guys told me later, and I wish I would’ve talked to them first.
The puck slides across the ice in front of me. I slap it without thinking twice. I miss another goal, and Coach blows his whistle.
Everyone skates in talking to one another. I know that I’m about to get into some type of trouble.
Austin and Adrien are both glaring at me. They’re the sticklers on the ice. They keep pushing me during practice, and today only means I’m in for a rough few days ahead.
Cayden and Jeremiah both smack my shoulders and give me a wary look. “Coach wants to see you once you’re cleaned up.” Cayden points at me and then holds his hands up.
“Thanks, man.” I let out a heavy sigh and toss my pads onto the floor. I’ve been avoiding staying at my place. It’s quiet there without my brothers. It’s quiet without the sounds of the Res around me. It’s easier to stay close to the rink.
The ease doesn’t make me happy, but it’s what I have to do in order to not burn through all of my money on gas driving back and forth. I still drive out by Mom twice a week, but seeing the roof the way it was and how they’re all sleeping and living crushed a piece of me.
The shower is helping loosen the knots in my neck and shoulders. I’m trying to keep focused on that instead of what Coach might say to me once I’m in his office.
The problem is once I’m out of the shower, I’m preparing to be let go at this point. My playing has been crap in practice all week.
I knock twice on the door and Coach spins in his chair to look at me. “Sit Down.”
I give a slow deep nod and sit in the large leather chair. “Coach, I’m sorry for…”
He holds his hand up and stops the words from tumbling out of my mouth. “You don’t have your head on right. What’s going on?”
I lean forward with my elbows on my knees and run my hands over my face before dropping back into the couch. “My Mom’s roof collapsed. A tree fell through the roof. The bills came in for the repairs, and I need to pay for those.”
“What did your agent say? What kind of deals can they get you?” He kept telling me to get an agent, and I never did. I thought I’d be able to sus things out for myself.
His eyes narrow, clearly understanding what I’ve been hiding from him. I drop my head back and look at the ceiling. “I signed a deal for myself, and I’m pretty sure they screwed me.”
“This is why I told you to get an agent. You need someone who can find you legitimate deals.” He crosses one leg at the ankle over his knee. “Is there any way out of the deal?”
I shrug. “I have no clue. I’ve been so focused on my family’s stuff that I haven’t truly given the contract a second look.”
He taps his fingers on the desk. “Here’s what I want you to do,,, go home and get some sleep. Everything will still be the way it is in twelve hours. Then, I want you to bring me a copy of the contract so that I can read it over.”
I nod at him feeling the exhaustion of everything fully hit me. He’s right. I need sleep. “I’ll bring it in tomorrow morning for you to look at.”
“You better have it together for practice tomorrow, or I’m letting Austin handle your training the rest of the week.” The look on Austin’s face has me cringing internally.
I hold my hands up in mock surrender. “Message received.”
“I’m going to see about finding you an agent who can handle everything and get you out of that crappy deal, or make it a better one.” He waves me off, and I take that as my cue to go.
I tap the door frame on my way out. “Thanks Coach. See you in the morning.”
I walk into my empty apartment and toss my gear down on the ground next to the door. My place isn’t sparkling, but it’s not dirty either.
It’s pretty bare to look around at. I haven’t had the chance, or money to fully furnish it. Every penny has been going back to Mom. I have a TV and a couch. I don’t really need much more out here.
My room isn’t exactly inspiring right now. It’s on a metal a frame, and the comforter’s old. The hamper is pretty full right outside of the closet. I should start a load up tonight.
